With the right ingredients, it’s easy to get healthy foods into a quick meal, before work, before school or any time of the day.  There really is no wrong way to make a smoothie, but I think these recipes are a great jumping off point.

I’ve included the full recipe for all eight smoothies below. I’d love for you to share your favourite classic smoothie in the comments!

But, before we go to the recipes, here is some basic smoothie "hacks" for you.

1. Use a good blender. If you’re in the smoothie-making business, you should invest in a great blender. If you would rather drink than chew your kale, a good Vitamix or other high end blender is worth it. Plus, you’ll use it for a million other things (ie never need to peel garlic again!).  In fact, I attribute my GlassSipper business to our Vitamix purchase.  Once I bought the blender, my kids were asking for smoothies every morning, but wanted to drink them with a straw.  Looking for alternatives to the mess of plastic straws spilling out of our drawers, I came upon the idea of a glass straw, and as a seasoned glass artist, had my ‘eureka’ moment and started making reusable glass straws.
2. Use your (unsweetened) milk of choice. If you’re a fan of coconut milk, use it. Like cow’s milk? Go for it. A fan of almond milk? Cool. Use whatever milk you like in your smoothies—you can’t go wrong. I just recommend you stick to unsweetened and unflavoured versions. That gives you the most control of the smoothie.  If you’re super ambitious, you could even make your own non dairy milks with your blender and a nut bag.
3. Sweeten to taste. All of these smoothies here use frozen banana as a base and bananas vary in sweetness. My recommendation is to blend up your smoothie without any added sweetener, then taste. My boys like a bit of vanilla Greek yogurt for sweetness, but when I’m making for myself, the fruit is sweet enough. Dates are a great natural sweetener, or Stevia if you are on a Keto diet.  Just beware that fruits have natural sugars, and even natural sugars add calories and carbs, so if you are trying to cut down on those items, go heavy on the veggies and light on the fruit.
4. Stock the freezer for easy smoothies. I throw a frozen banana into every single smoothie I make. It adds a lot of creaminess, sweetness, and nutrition. I can often get a bunch of over-ripe organic, treat the workers well, guilt free bananas for about a buck! Then when I get home, I peel them, break them into chunks, and then freeze them flat on a cookie sheet. When solid, I transfer them to a ziptop freezer bag (which I reuse year after year). I also look for frozen fruit on sale and stock up, or even better, pick berries in summer to use in winter.
5. Use your creativity for mix-ins. The smoothie recipes below are plain, but if you want to expand your smoothie horizons, go for it! Toss in chia seeds or protein powder or hemp seeds or flax or whatever else makes your heart happy. 

• Don’t like or can’t eat bananas? Sub in 1/2 cup additional plain Greek yogurt (to add creaminess) plus 1 tablespoon additional sweetener and a handful of ice cubes in place of the frozen banana in these recipes. Other options: canned pineapple, sweetened yogurt, canned pears. Adding half a ripe avocado can really help make up for the creaminess that bananas usually add, too.

• Want to make them vegan? Use plant-based Greek yogurt (there are really great coconut milk ones out there now) and stick to maple syrup and plant-based milks.
• What to do with the flops?  One downside with being creative with your smoothie making, especially in the beginning, is that sometimes they are pretty bad.  I pour the ‘undrinkable’ ones into ice cube trays and use them in small amounts in other smoothies.  They’re usually full of nutrition, and in small doses, pretty tasty.

• And most important... drink with your smoothie straw!

Want more great ideas?  Catherine McCord has just published The Smoothie Project.  Check it out for some great ideas!

Classic Green Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup greens (baby spinach, destemmed kale, collards, chard, etc.)
• 1 cup unsweetened milk (nut, soy, animal)
• Honey or maple syrup, to taste

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 orange, peeled or 2 clementines, peeled
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsweetened milk (nut, soy, animal)
• Honey or maple syrup, to taste

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup unsweetened milk (nut, soy, animal)
• 1 tablespoon natural peanut butter
• 1–3 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• Honey or maple syrup, to taste

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

• 2 frozen bananas
• 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 1 cup unsweetened milk (nut, soy, animal)
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• Honey or maple syrup, to taste

Pina Colada Smoothie

• 2 frozen bananas
• 1 cup pineapple chunks (canned or fresh)
• 1 cup coconut milk (from the can)
• Honey or maple syrup, to taste

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 cup unsweetened milk (nut, soy, animal)
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• Honey or maple syrup, to taste

Mocha Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup strong-brewed coffee
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• Honey or maple syrup, to taste

Mixed Berry Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup frozen mixed berries
• 1 cup unsweetened milk (nut, soy, animal)
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• Honey or maple syrup, to taste